


Decay Of Reality

by PietroBarton



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Abduction, Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Descriptions of violence and torture, F/M, Family Reunions, Illiterate Character, Kidnapping, Learning Disabilities, Like, M/M, Major canon divergence, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Texting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-06-29 10:06:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15727200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PietroBarton/pseuds/PietroBarton
Summary: Pietro and Wanda weren't orphans and they were about to find out what they had thought to be true had all been manufactured and drilled into their heads by Hydra.





	1. it starts without a hello

**Author's Note:**

> This fic isn't close to being canon and based on a roleplay from a while back that I've been obsessed with. The twins are fourteen, almost fifteen in this fic and Erik and Charles are around fortyish. This is my first fic ever so I apologize for any mistakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic isn't close to being canon and based on a roleplay from a while back that I've been obsessed with. The twins are fourteen, almost fifteen in this fic and Erik and Charles are around fortyish. This is my first fic ever so I apologize for any mistakes.

The day had been average at best until Pietro's phone alerted him to a new message. A message from an unknown number. This in itself was peculiar as only a select few had the speedsters number and each of those contacts knew to call rather than text. With the help of the feature tony added to his phone, the AI read out the text on the screen through Pietro's headphones.

_‘I’m not sure who’s number this is, but my name is Charles Xavier. I would like to talk about your most recent mission to Sokovia. CX’_

He repeated the message a few times, recognizing the mission in question but not the name.

Just over seven months ago the Avengers had raided a Hydra base in the mountains located in the region of Sokovia. During the raid, they stumbled along a high profile experiment within hydra that had been assumed to be rumor based that assumedly stemmed from the aftermath of the 2012 battle against Loki. That's when the twins came into the picture. Both were found in a cell of their own that neighbored each other, Wanda stood upright with red energy swirling around her fingertips, ready to attack, and Pietro pressed back against the corner furthest away from the Avengers at the door. At the time they were fourteen when the Avengers had found them and had been with hydra since they ran from their orphanage aged eleven.

Ever since that day, the Avengers had brought them back to the compound and began to process of getting them to control their powers and starting the process of visas and what not. It hadn't been the smoothest of journeys but they were both now safe and happy, despite the past they had.

With a frown, he spoke out his reply, the AI on his phone converting his words into a text. _‘I do not know who you are nor do I have the authority to reveal information. regarding missions. PM’._  

The reply was almost immediate, the messenger, Charles, clearly was eager in continuing and pushing the matter forward. The message read, ‘All right, I understand that. Do you know who you could put me in contact with to talk about it? CX.’ Before the AI read the full message, the text chimed in again. _‘I'm afraid it's rather urgent. CX’_

During the time he had used to think about how he was going to reply, debating with himself on whether or not he should call someone to let them know about the messenger (he went with not doing that, instead deciding to only do so if the man got too persistent), another message came through. This guy was clearly impatient on the matter.

Once again the robotic voice read the text out for Pietro. ‘ _There were two children found and brought back with the Avengers after the raid on the Hydra base. Twins, nearing the age of 15. They mean more to me than you could possibly know, I desperately need to get in contact with them. CX’._

 _‘They mean more to me than you could possibly know’_ was the part that stuck after having heard that the man was, in fact, searching for answers on both him and his sister, for what he had yet found out. His stomach couldn't help but twist at the thought that this could all be an elaborate plot conjured up by hydra to secure the two assets that were once theirs. But the message seemed more sincere than possessive. And he had a sense of curiosity about him that he had yet to fully shake despite the trouble it constantly got him into.

He spoke out a reply to the phone and hit send.

‘ _We couldn’t possibly mean anything to you, you are a stranger. I do not know you. PM’._

He didn't mean anything to this man, nothing at all. His parents died in a bombing a short while after their tenth birthday, and with no brothers or sisters on either side along with the deaths of all grandparents, the Maximoffs twins truly had only each other until that fateful day they were rescued by the Avengers from the Hydra base. Since then they had people. People who cared and wished to help them. Clint told them it was a found family, that he was familiar with the situation they were in as he too had been orphaned young. Pietro always thought that's why he had a soft spot for the pair, taking on a fatherly role to the point where he and if wife became their legal guardian while they waited on the citizenship. He even spoke about potentially adopting them to support them in getting both citizenship and a more permanent family.

No. They meant nothing to this man messaging him. What could the twins possibly mean to a stranger they have never met. Just as he was about to call Clint to talk out the entire interaction with the messenger, his phone chimed yet again, another message from the number.

_‘You’re Pietro, aren't you my dear boy? You have no reason to trust me, I understand that, but... you're my son.. your father, Erik, and I... we've missed both of you so terribly. You were taken from us hardly five years old when it happened. We’ve never stopped looking and now... Now you've been found. Please, give me the chance to explain in person. Are you at SHIELD headquarters? CX’._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Rp who gave the prompt and played Charles and Erik in the Rp is http://countrygalxmarvel.tumblr.com/


	2. mind fucking incomprehensible

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long wait, this fanfic should now be updated more regularly, at the very least once a week, the day depending on my day off on that given week/or during the weekend.

Pietro listened to the message over and over again, to the point where he could recite it off his heart. He sat, still like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, just listening to it until the point that he had to pull himself out of the loop and truly think about it. 

It could just be a prank, or a ploy, or an elaborate trap but something inside of him told him otherwise, he was yet to decide if the feelings towards this thought were positive or negative. He had a family that wasn't dead, that looked for him, for him and Wanda, that loved them. Bu this also meant that the family he knew and loved, the parents they lost in the destruction of their home country, were a lie. And that was harder to come to terms with. Coming to terms with something like this was life changing in itself but, in a way, it would be ending the life he’d been living up to this point, that both he and Wanda had.

He finally calmed down enough to register the fact that he had another message from the stranger. From Charles, he found himself correcting his internal voice. 

_ ‘I know this will be so very hard to come to terms with, and as you said I am nothing but a stranger to you now but.. It would mean the world if we were able to come to explain this all to you. In person. It would mean the world if we could just see the two of you, our sweet children. CX.’ _

Regardless if Charles was telling him the truth, the fact that he called them their sweet children struck a nerve with Pietro. His parents, the ones he knew from Sokovia, the ones he loved and mourned. The ones he remembered. Those are the parents who had the right to call them their children. Which led what could only be an anger-fueled reply, anger to hide the struggle of coming to terms with something so mind fucking incomprehensible.

_ ‘This is all lies. Are parents are Sergei and Yelena Maximoff, both of which died in a bombing. You’re a cruel liar. I don't know what your reason is but stop, stop it. PM.’ _

He had all intentions to take himself and his phone to Clint, to show him the conversation and pass the responsibility to him, to forget about it all, but a series of text followed before he could bring himself to his feet.

  
  


_ ‘Pietro.. We feared this, feared you wouldn't remember us. Hydra had you, I have no doubts that they have brainwashed you as a means of control, it would explain why the connection I had with the pair of you broke… CX.’ _

_ ‘You have no reason to trust me or trust what I am telling you. CX.’ _

_ ‘I know you owe us nothing, we failed to bring you both home for so long, but please give us a chance to explain, to give you a reason to trust us and what we have to say… CX. _

_ ‘Are you at Shield HQ? We can get there by morning if you and Wanda are. CX.’ _

Once the AI had finished reading the messages to Pietro, he didn't really think before replying.

_ ‘I am at Avengers tower, Wanda is out of the state for the next few months, in school. You can come to the tower but I will need to clear it with the Avengers. And any meeting we have my guardian will be present. Will this... Other the man be with you? PM.’ _

After the next reply he got from the man, Pietro decided that that would be the point that he would bring this whole situation to Clint and in turn to the other Avengers. It would either all go away if it was discovered to be an elaborate ploy by Hydra or a prank or yet another cruel way in which the press was attempting to interview the twins. But if it wasn't, if what the man was saying was all true, then his life was about to change drastically. He was definitely now suppressing any and all feelings he had surrounding the whole situation.

_ ‘Erik will be with me, yes, and we can make it to the Avengers tower by noon tomorrow granted the meeting is cleared by the Avengers. CX.’ _

_ ‘If you don't mind me asking, who is your guardian? CX.’ _

Pietro had moved to wait for the elevator by the time the messages came through, stepping into the said elevator as the AI finished reading them to him.

_ ‘Clint Barton, Hawkeye. Both mine and Wanda’s guardian. He is looking into formally adopting us, so we can be part of a family and get citizenship to this country. So we don't have to go back to Sokovia. PM.’  _

He replied back as he watched the numbers change gradually as the elevator rose, Pietro having decided the best place to look for Clint would be the common room of the building. He nervously tapped his fingers against his leg. Clint would know what to do, what he should do. Clint would be able to help him.

_ ‘Hopefully that won't be necessary but I am glad you have someone who clearly cares deeply for the two of you. Erik and I will begin gathering the appropriate documents and what have you, and wait for confirmation on your side in regards to as and when the meeting will take place. If after the meeting you still don't believe what we've said, we will respect your decision and give you space. Just know that we love you, and we love Wanda, so very much. CX.’ _

Pietro didn't receive any more messages after that one and he had the urge to reply but knew it would be best to leave any further conversation until after he had spoken to Clint and the others. He was barely a teenager at this point, let alone an adult. And this, this was big. It wasn't something he could do on his own. 

As the thoughts continue to race around his mind, his whole being constantly at an advanced speed in comparisons to those around him, thanks to the experiments and the torture he endured at the hands of Hydra, he spotted Clint and the breakfast bar and was at his side in an instant.

“Clint… I need to talk to you, I-I don't know what to do... And I need your help…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this update was worth the wait! 
> 
> Thank you so much the comments and kudos on this fanfic, I really appreciate this.


	3. father figure(s)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for being a day late, lot on my plate. next chapter will be up by Saturday, it will feature Charles and Erik's part of the story so far i.e. them finding out about the twins being alive, making contact, arranging things with the Avengers, etc. then the following chapters will involve all parties and the same time. additionally, for the sake of the story and my own laziness I've made it so that Charles' and Eriks' pasts aren't necessarily the same as those in the movies or comics, essentially just diluting their stories just slightly in regards to their actions and criminal activities just so the story makes sense. their characters shouldn't change that much but their pasts will. it won't be something that will be written about much anyways.

Pietro explained to Clint what had happened, showing him all the texts that had been exchanged, venting his fears and his hopes towards the whole situation. And the Clint did what Clint did best with him, he calmed him down. He talked through the situation with him and then explained that he needed to go relay this back to the team. He did, however, put Pietro on facetime with Laura to further calm him, knowing he would need someone to talk to whilst he sorted it out. 

Pietro felt like he was in somewhat of a daze, sitting listening to Laura update him on how all the kids were doing. Laura was great, she knew that Pietro needed to be distracted, even for just a bit whilst everything was arranged. She was in the middle of telling Pietro on how Clint had got Lila her first bow and how Lila had shot Clint in the shoulder within the first five minutes of use when Clint returned.

“It was not in the first five minutes and it was my fault,” Clint said as he sat down on the couch beside Pietro, giving his wife a gentle smile before glancing to Pietro. “And that story stays between us, I really don't want another reason for Tasha to make fun of me thank you very much.”

Despite all the street and racing thoughts, Pietro couldn't help but laugh, “I have to tell Wanda, come on.” Pietro tried not to keep anything from his sister and that thought just made him sad because he was keeping this from her, keeping this huge life-changing thing from her. But he reasoned that he was doing what was best for her. She had exams to deal with and he didn't want to distract her from them, didn't want to be the reason behind her potentially failing. So he was keeping something so big from her, taking the brunt of it. The least he could do was tell her what a dumbass Clint was. 

Pietro said his goodbyes to Laura, as did Clint, before hanging up and giving Clint his phone back. “What… What did the others say?” He asked after a quiet moment.

Clint let out a long sigh before wrapping his arm around Pietro. “It seems that, from what we’ve been able to confirm, that the claim from them seems to be true. They’re both quite prominent mutants, one who runs a school and the other who was a rather notorious activist. We can't see a reason as to why they would lie and they're definitely not Hydra. They're extremely private, what we know about their personal life is mainly based on rumours. The timelines of the rumours match up with what they're saying. It makes sense, really. We should've connected the dots, that's on us.” The archer explained, glancing to the boy to see how he was holding up, seeing how he was reacting to the whole situation. “We contacted them, Via video conference. We are satisfied with their evidence and with confirming their identities and we've gone ahead with inviting them over here for a meeting, to discuss this all. We offered to pick them up in the Quinjet but they told us they would make it here on their own. They should arrive tomorrow morning.”  


It felt as if Pietro had held his breath throughout the duration of Clints’ answers. Which was a stupid feeling because there's no way he could've, Clint spoke for what felt like ages, there was no way he could've. But maybe it's not the action but the feeling behind it, the feeling of the world coming to a halt. His world just stopped, well and truly stopped. The Avengers had no reason to believe that these men were lying, that this was an elaborate scam or trap or whatever. They could truly be Pietro's parents, Pietro and Wanda's parents. 

He didn't know what he wanted to hear from Clint. He didn't know if he had wanted to hear if it was a complete lie or that it was truthful. He didn't know and that made him feel worse than feeling like he couldn't breathe. He felt guilty and selfish and hopeful and he felt things he couldn't even put words to.

“Do you believe them?” Pietro asked the archer after a few minutes of silent contemplation. He needed to know what Clint thought, not the Avengers as a whole, but just Clint. 

His guardian.

His support system.

His family.

His real family, no matter the outcome. Clint was his family and he needed to know. He needed to know desperately because regardless of this being true or not, regardless of the fact that the family he had believed he had grown up with Wanda by his side, Clint was their family now. Forever and always, no matter what. Clint had told him that from the start.

“I… Don’t have all the facts yet. They're going to bring documentation tomorrow and Erik has agreed to undergo a blood test, to prove it. They said he's the biological parent, that you're related to. They used his… y’know,” The archer finished with a shrug. “I’m guessing you haven't told Wanda about any of this yet, huh?”

God, Clint was able to read him like a book. “No. No, she doesn't need all this right now. I will figure it out, tell her when its right to. That's my decision,” He added to the end, wanting to ensure that Clint was clear of what he wanted to do.

“Alright… It's been a long day, kid, and I know it's probably going to be hard for you to get some rest but I think maybe you should call in for the night and we can wake up bright and early tomorrow and prepare,” Clint told Pietro, moving a hand to push back Pietro's hair from his face. His fatherly instincts were in overdrive.

“Yeah... Yeah, Okay,” Pietro nodded, rubbing his eyes. He really, despite literally sitting on a phone for most of the day he was exhausted and it was quickly catching up on him. “If... If they are our parents… you'll still love us, right? We will still be your family?”  


“Of course, that's never going to change, Pietro. And if they are and you don't want them to be, you know me and Laura will have you guys in a heartbeat. And if you decided you want them to be your family if they are, then I will still be here no matter what,” Clint assured him.

That assurance seemed to calm Pietro, even if it was merely by a fraction. He looked up to Clint before hugging the father figure for a few minutes. “Thank you, Clint. Thank you so much… I will see you tomorrow. Is going to be a long day too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also, I am thinking about writing small prequel stories to this main one, such as the night the twins were kidnapped and what not. would that be something you guys would be interested in? 
> 
> let me know what you think of this chapter! I love hearing your thoughts!


	4. formative loss

Charles put down the phone and waited, giving himself a moment to steady his thoughts the best he could. He knew Pietro and Wanda were in safe hands, he knew they were loved. And they knew that both Erik and himself loved them dearly, even if they didn't believe it right now. He didn't even know if Wanda knew, Pietro only having mentioned she was in school and not if he had told her about this whole situation. But that didn't matter right now, all that mattered was that their sweet children were both alive and safe.

Charles and Erik had spent years thinking the worst, thinking the twins were dead. His connection with their children had been lost that night, and he was still unable to reconnect, to locate them. He had always been in denial about the most logical reason behind that loss, that the pair had been killed. He never voiced this with Erik, only that he couldn't connect with them. The reason for that was still an unknown but that wasn't his first concern right now. Their first concern was to get their children home with them. 

With a sigh he made his way to Erik's office to update him on it all, to let his husband read through the texts, and to start gathering the appropriate documentation. They had kept all the paperwork in one box in Erik's office, all together and ready for all those years, now finally needed. 

“Erik?” He wheeled himself into the office and smiled at his husband sitting behind the desk, “I have some news for you. Some really good news.”

The promise of good news caused Erik to look up and smile at his husband. “You do? Did you manage to get in contact with Shield?” He asked as he pushed his chair back, stood, and approached Charles, pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

“Even better, darling. The number we got happened to be Pietros, I’ve spoken to our boy. He's alive, Wanda is alive.” He told his husband, handing the phone over to him so he could experience the joy that he had felt when he originally read the texts.

Erik's eyes went wide. Of course, there had been rumours about the Avengers finding twins during a Hydra raid but it had always been a case not wanting to get their hopes up until they were sure. They had fallen into that trap before, thinking they were so close to finding the twins only for it to be ripped away from them, and it nearly broke them both as a couple and as individuals. They couldn't do that. That's why they had agreed when the rumours first started they wouldn't get their hopes up and investigate it instead, even going as far to hire a private investigator, a pretty damn good one at that considering they had managed to not only stay uncover but stay undercover from the avengers of all people. 

“When are we going?” Was all Erik asked after reading the messages for the third time, tears already welling in his eyes. He worried for a moment that he was breaking their agreement but saw how his tears mirrored Charles and yet again they were together, hopes high and grips tight on it. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took Charles a moment to explain how they had to go about this, how they needed to wait on their half for the Avengers to now make contact to confirm it all. They couldn't just go to the tower and barge in for their children, they couldn't. Not because he doubted that the twins in question were theirs but because they don't know them, they were safe and comfortable where they were, and they didn't want to jeopardise that or potentially turn the twins against them before they even got a chance to explain it all to them. Before they got a chance to be their parents again. 

While the pair waited they got the file boxes they had filled with the twins' documents and evidence they had collected over the years for this exact situation. After having checked the box to ensure that it was all still there, the pair decided to get their treasured photo albums they had started when they the twins came into their lives as well as their comforters, a bunny and a bear soft teddy. Erik had always thought to look at them left him with a sad reminder that the twins never got the chance to wear them away with love as other children got. Now his heart broke with the realisation that instead of experiencing what other children did, what they deserved to experience, they had spent their formative years in the clutches of hydra. 

Eventually the Avengers contacted them and a conference call was arranged. The talk was between both Erik and Charles, and the Avengers, minus Natasha and Thor. The mutants did their best to explain the situation, being completely open and honest with the Avengers in hopes that it would be continued on their side of things. The Avengers seemingly trusted what they were saying but needed that physical evidence, inviting them to come to the tower in person to provide such. A few more aspects were discussed before the call ultimately ended and they were left looking at a blank screen. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Following that conference call, the pair set into action and set off, leaving the schools and the grounds of their home as a couple but hoping to return as a family, something they had waited so long to be again. 

The ride took hours, checking into a hotel once they arrived close to the tower in the early hours of the next morning and they waited there until they needed to set off again for the meeting. 

Once they made it through the chaos of the big city, crowds bothering both of them for personal reasons, they simply stood outside the building in silence for a few minutes, just taking it all in and preparing themselves for what was to come, be it good or bad. Hopefully good. 

“It's going to be okay,” Charles assured Erik, giving the man's hand a gentle squeeze before looking up to the intimidatingly tall building. He knew Erik needed to hear some form of reassurance but deep down he knew he did too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the lack of an update for the past month. Next update will finally have them meet face to face for the first time and the chapters following this one will be considerably longer.
> 
> please let me know what you think of this fic so far as well as what you guys would think of other smaller fics within this au such as when the avengers found the twins and when they were kidnapped etc. 
> 
> thank you for reading! i hope you enjoy!


	5. reunion of sorts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the reunion finally happens. well, part one of the reunion, one twin down another to go.

Having woken early that rather life-changing morning, Pietro had set up the conference room that the meeting would take place. He kept calling it a meeting in his mind, though in actuality he knew he was trying to avoid naming it what it truly was. A reunion.

Clint had joined Pietro a little while after the speedster has began to prepare the room, having volunteered to support him during this. The avengers had decided amongst themselves that Clint was the best choice in terms of handling and supporting the situation, the others being close by if the worst was to happen. The archer was not only a representative of the avenger initiative for this meeting but, as the twins legal guardian and as someone who had plans to make it all official and adopt them, he was their family.

Pietro, having rearranged paper work on their side of the table, rearranged the chairs surrounding the table itself, and changed outfits four times now, had began pacing the length of the room, Clint sat watching him from the side of the table closest to the window.

“Pietro, kid, you should come sit down. They're going to be here soon,” the archer said after a few minutes, checking his watch. 

After internally debating in it for a moment, and stubbornly taking a few additional laps, Pietro reluctantly sat down beside Clint. That was when Jarvis’ voice interrupted the silence that had fallen between the pair. “Professor Xavier and Mr Lehnsherr are on their way up, they should arrive in approximately three minutes.”

The sort time scale presented to the pair only made Pietro's natural fidgety nature worst, the speedster now tugging slightly at the sleeves of his jumper and shooting quick glances to the door, then to Clint, then to the window but always ending up with his eyes back to the door.

The deafening silence stuck to the room until the three minutes were up and the door was opened with the use of Eriks' powers to allow Charles to enter in his chair, followed by Erik himself a moment later. That was when Pietro's eyes dropped to the table, not yet ready to look at the pair, not wanting to discover if he resembled Erik or if seeing them in person sparked the resurfacing of his own memories. 

The pair, clearly picking up from the signals radiating off of their son, quietly came in and set there things down on the opposite end of the conference table before sitting down. 

“Hello.. It’s.. I..” Charles managed to say, struggling to arrange his thoughts enough to form a proper sentence, his emotions getting the better of him as he looked over to his son, so grown and different from the child taken from them years ago. The child who endured such obvious torture at the hands of hydra, who was now having his whole life turned upside down for what he can only imagine is for the millionth time in his short life. It was hard for him, and the thoughts he was picking up from Erik gave off the same impression, so he couldn’t imagine how the youngster was feeling in this moment. 

“We are so happy to see that you're alive and well, Pietro,” Erik helped his husband, reaching over to squeeze Charles hand in support. Charles had always been the more vocal of the pair, Erik often letting the psychic speak on behalf of them both but even he could see that his love was struggling. “We have no doubt that you and Wanda are our children but we… we understand your apprehensiveness and concerns, I understand how outlandish this all must sound to you given the circumstances. We've brought documents, photos… everything we could think of that could help. And I am more than willing to undergo any testing to confirm it all.”

This made Pietro look up, glancing over to the mentioned documents and what was clearly a well liked photo album. He then glanced back to Clint who nodded in support, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder briefly in a fatherly manner.

The pair didn't want to push the youngster into speaking and let silence fall upon them all as they watched him take into account what they had said.

“This is silly, I would know if you were my family…” Pietro told them after a few more minutes of the rather suffocating silence. “My parents died, they're gone. You're not them… Clint. I-I don't think this is true, I don’t… I…” he couldn't help the way he wrapped his arms around himself like a shield.

Seeing this sparked a memory in the pair, the defensive position was all to similar to how Pietro would put himself into when he was scared or upset when he was young. He hated knowing he was part of the reason his boy looked so scared. He took a deep breath and slid the box of paper work over to Clint. “I understand your feelings, Pietro, this must be very confusing. There are a lot of questions left to be answered and new questions are only just going to constantly arise over this.”

Clint scooped out some of the paperwork and flicked through it, all whilst listening to the conversation and keeping a close eye on Pietro. Clint, even before Shield, was very good at producing fake documentation and could clearly identify fraudulent documents. And the ones provided to them by the couple were real. He leaned over to quietly share this information with Pietro, leaving the documents on the table in front of him. “They all check out, Pie.”

Pietro nodded as he listened to Clint, eyes glancing at the documents. Although, the whole action was pointless. Pietro struggled heavily with reading. 

“You were taken when you had just turned five, two days after your birthday. And only three weeks after you mutations manifested. Enhanced speed though now I am aware that there is more to it than that,” Charles told him. “Your sisters mutant abilities came earlier than yours but where still rather muted at that point. But you, your powers, came full force. Your father and I had to sew metal into your clothing so we could keep track of you and keep you safe.” He added, feeling the need to share a little bit more. He knew many mutant kids who grew up without parents and therefore lacked knowledge on their mutations and how and when they came to be so he felt it was important, if anything, that Pietro gained that from this interaction. “I’m unaware on what you've been told about your abilities, all I know is that Hydra took you, but you and Wanda are mutants, just like us. I am a telepath and your father can control and manipulate metal.”

That made Pietro look up to the pair, his eyes narrowing slightly as he listened, waiting for him to finish. “We are not mutants. We are humans who were experimented on. We are experiments, the only saviours. We were tested on and enhanced. You’re lying to me. I know my memories. I know who and what I am. I am not a mutant. I am a human.” He was trying desperately to cling to the life he thought he knew to be his, cling to his parents, to Sokovia, to all the trauma they had endured. But it was getting harder and harder to do so as more evidence to disprove that started to pile up, with more only to come.

That was the first thing he had said to them and they both couldn't help but feel hurt by it. Hurt by how their children had been manipulated and their memories altered but also hurt that their child was now rejecting the notion of being a mutant. They had always had a drive to promote understanding and positive outlooks on being a mutant and to hear this from anyone, let alone their one son, hurt. But they moved passed the hurt, it was important to. They knew that their own feelings and emotions regarding the situation would be nothing in comparison to those racing around in their son's head.

“Those types of experiments have yet to actually work, no one has gained such abilities from anything like this. And any attempt has lead to the sad deaths of those experimented on. Pietro, I can assure you you are a mutant, just like us. And there is nothing wrong with that. Your DNA should show this too, should show the mutant gene, specifically the one connected to your father's heritage,” Charles explained in a calm and soft voice, hands placed on his knees as he watched Pietro's reaction to what he was saying. 

Silence fell upon them all again, Pietros' eyes dropping to the floor as he contemplated it all. It didn't take a telepath to know that the speedster was struggling with this all deeply, a mixture of hurt and realisation clear on his face. 

“I would offer to show you the memories we have of you but something is blocking the connection we once had, I can no longer do that for the time being. If at any point that changes, do you think that could help?” Charles asked, glancing over to Erik. 

“No,” Pietro was quick to answer Xavier. “That would not help. Without my sister here how would I know that those memories are even real?”

Charles nodded in understanding, seeing reason in his sons explanation. But the rejection of a connection after so many years stung a little bit but he tried not to take it to heart. They would get there, he knew it. He would wait. “I understand. The offer will always be there.”

Pietro looked at the pair before turning his attention to Clint, swivelling his chair a little. “Can… Can you give us a moment? Please?” Pietro asked the archer, biting his bottom lip nervously. 

“I will, Yeah. But Jay will keep an eye on you and I’ll just be outside of the room. Shout if you need me.” He told him, pulling him into a quick hug, before parting and leaving the room. 

The hug prompted the slight shake of the metal chairs in the room, something that stopped as soon as it started by a Charles soothing hand over Eriks'. He knew seeing the archer hug their son affected him, the man was his father figure now and even had plans to adopt their children, he knew why Erik reacted in such a way. 

 

Once the door shut behind Clint, Pietro finally spoke up again, eyes on the men. “What is it that you want?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry it took so long to post this but i honestly just wasn't happy with how this chapter kept turning out and i am not really that happy with it now but hey ho here you go!
> 
> comments and thoughts are appreciated as well as ideas for side stories set in the Au, such as prequel type stories that give you more background on it all.

**Author's Note:**

> This Fic would not exist without http://countrygalxmarvel.tumblr.com/ as they were the one to start the original Rp and inspired me a lot.


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